At Odds

"So that's how it is, the ' Slaughter City'— "

Ling Yi listened to Yu Xiaogang's summary of the past two years, which was mostly cut short and could be described as just a few sentences. He frowned thoughtfully and said, "I learned some information about the [Spirit Hall] from its ancient texts and from the Tang Family family of the [Clear Sky Sect]. It is indeed an environment suitable for the growth of the ' Blood Shadow Demonic Dragon '."

"Since you were able to get out of there, it seems you've also obtained the same ' Deathgod Domain ' as Tang Hao?" Ling Yi stared into Yu Xiaogang's eyes and asked solemnly.

"Certainly!"

At this, Yu Xiaogang immediately perked up, as if all the negative emotions that had been weighing on his heart were about to disappear, and his eyes shone brightly.

Before Ling Yi could say anything more, Yu Xiaogang's body flashed with red Soul Power, and a blood-red light projected from his body, landing on the open ground beside the two of them.

"Roar--!!!"

As soon as the crimson light and shadow landed, a roar rang out, causing the spacious room to tremble slightly.

It was this roar that woke up the materials imprisoned in the rows of metal cages not far away by the wall.

"Ah... Awoo... Chirp... Humph..."

Different voices rang out simultaneously, but before these materials could continue to speak, Ling Yi raised his hand and flicked his finger, sending out a ball of azure Soul Power that landed on the ceiling above his head.

Instantly, strange streams of light flowed, forming complex patterns that covered the rows of metal cages along the wall in an instant, quieting down the materials that had just awakened.

Upon seeing this scene, Yu Xiaogang's pupils shrank slightly, and he felt a sense of apprehension towards the "God-Sealing Formation" that enveloped the room.

Although he didn't think Ling Yi would lay a hand on him, and Yu Xiaogang even suspected that his father, Yu Yuanzhen, might do something to him, he had never doubted Ling Yi either. However, the perilous experiences he had had over the years still made him subconsciously feel uneasy and resistant to being in this "God-Sealing Formation," and he wanted to escape.

"If I were to face this ' God-Sealing Formation,' what are my chances of breaking through?"

With this thought in mind, Yu Xiaogang instinctively spared some attention to observe the array patterns flashing on the metal cage.

On the other side, Ling Yi paid no attention to Yu Xiaogang's little schemes, but focused his attention on Luo Sanpao, who had just appeared.

At first glance, Ling Yi sensed the bloodthirsty aura emanating from Luo Sanpao, as well as his mixed and Evil spiritual intent.

"This is... the ' Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King '? And... that Hannibal?"

Ling Yi's gaze swept over Luo Sanpao's two heads, and he instantly judged the other party's identity and background from the aura emanating from those two spiritual thoughts.

So, Yu Xiaogang first used Luo Sanpao to devour the Eight-Ring Soul Douluo Hannibal, gaining a certain amount of strength, before entering the "Slaughter City." Then, after winning a hundred battles in the Hell Slaughter Arena, and while traversing the Hell Road, he devoured the "Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King," who had previously been hiding within the "Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King's " clone?

Based on his encounter with Yu Xiaogang two years ago, Ling Yi instantly pieced together a rough outline of Yu Xiaogang's past. At the same time, a rather strange sense of déjà vu arose in his mind: 'Is Yu Xiaogang living out Bibi Dong's script?'

Although the order is slightly different, there are many similarities.

Bibi Dong devoured Qian Xunji, greatly increasing her strength; Yu Xiaogang devoured Hannibal, greatly increasing his strength.

Bibi Dong entered the "Slaughter City" and successfully obtained the "Deathgod Domain"; Yu Xiaogang entered the "Slaughter City" and successfully obtained the "Deathgod Domain".

Bibi Dong's mental state became paranoid and insane due to her own experiences, the bloody killings in the "Slaughter City"Slaughter City, and the God Trial and thoughts of the Rakshasa God. Similarly, Yu Xiaogang's mental state was on the verge of going berserk due to his own experiences, the bloody killings in the "Slaughter City", and the mental interference of the "Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King" and Hannibal.

As Ling Yi observed Luo Sanpao, the "Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King" parasitizing Luo Sanpao's two heads and Hannibal also noticed Ling Yi's presence.

The "Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King" had never seen Ling Yi before. It merely glanced at Ling Yi before turning its attention to the metal cages not far away.

"If I drain the blood of these human Soul Master and Soul Beast, I might be able to recover faster!" The Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King thought to himself, a restless glint in his eyes.

Compared to the "Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King," Hannibal's first instinct upon seeing Ling Yi's face was to look around.

When he didn't see the silver-white figure in the room, Hannibal secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

But then, Hannibal's heart jumped again.

Just because someone isn't here now doesn't mean they'll never be here.

What if that guy shows up again in a little while?

The thought of "escape?" had barely formed in Hannibal mind when it began to spread rapidly.

At the same time, the white mark on Luo Sanpao's forehead shone brightly, and a beam of pure white light spread out, instantly enveloping the entire room.

Feeling the familiar chill, Ling Yi raised an eyebrow slightly and nodded in evaluation, "Not bad, it's exactly the same as Tang Hao's ' Deathgod Domain,' and it even has a faint Tang Hao's might added. Judging from its suppressive effect on enemies alone, your ' Deathgod Domain ' is even superior to Tang Hao's six years ago!"

"Tang Hao from six years ago?"

Upon receiving Ling Yi's praise, Yu Xiaogang couldn't help but smile, and a hint of uncontrollable joy appeared in his eyes.

Even six years ago, Tang Hao was the number one genius in the Douluo Continent!

Although Tang Hao was at a disadvantage against Yang Shelly and Ah Yin when they joined forces six years ago, which made the two women famous, Tang Hao was the youngest Seven-Ring Soul Sage in the Douluo Continent at that time, and his combat power was so strong that no one could ignore it!

Furthermore, Tang Hao was thirty-two years old six years ago, and today, Yu Xiaogang is only thirty-one years old!

In a sense, Yu Xiaogang has caught up with Tang Hao!

Thinking of this, Yu Xiaogang felt an overwhelming sense of exhilaration, and he also felt that all the setbacks and hardships he had experienced over the years were worth it.

"The ' Blood Shadow Demonic Dragon ' route was the right one!" Yu Xiaogang thought excitedly.

If he had chosen to cultivate step by step two years ago, quietly accumulating pure Dragon Power and waiting for Luo Sanpao to advance step by step towards the "Radiant Holy Dragon", he probably wouldn't even have reached the level of Five-Ring Soul King now!

But now, as long as he loosens his moral bottom line a little and becomes a bit ruthless, he stands in front of Ling Yi with the strength of Seven-Ring Soul Sage and even gets the evaluation of being "stronger than Tang Hao"!

Tang Hao six years ago was still Tang Hao!

His "Deathgod Domain" is stronger than Tang Hao's "Deathgod Domain" six years ago = Yu Xiaogang than Tang Hao, no problem!

Just as Yu Xiaogang was overjoyed and secretly felt that his efforts over the past two years had been worthwhile, Ling Yi's voice, now somewhat serious, rang out again:

"Xiaogang, your current situation is somewhat dangerous. I suggest that you stop cultivating for the time being and properly adjust your mental state..."

"Stop cultivating?!" Upon hearing this, Yu Xiaogang slightly detached himself from his inner joy, his brows furrowing as he refused without hesitation, "Impossible! I've only just broken through to the Seven-Ring Soul Sage. I can sense that this is the golden period for my strength to improve; I can't waste this precious time!"

"But your mental state is very poor right now." Ling Yi looked directly into Yu Xiaogang's eyes and said in a deep voice, "You should be able to sense it yourself; you could lose control at any moment!"

"What kind of place is the ' Slaughter City '? Although I haven't personally experienced that so-called Hell Slaughter Arena, just from what I've read in ancient books and heard from Tang Xiao and the others, I know that it's an endless slaughter, enough to twist a person's mind and make them regard human life as ants and livestock..."

"Treat human life like ants or livestock?"

Yu Xiaogang met Ling Yi's gaze, then suddenly smiled, pointing to the metal cages beside him, and said sarcastically, "Has the city lord forgotten that you're treating them like livestock?"

Ling Yi looked in the direction Yu Xiaogang was pointing and saw more than a dozen Soul Master with serene expressions. There were men and women, young people and middle-aged people.

The Weiyi thing these Soul Master had in common was the fierce aura between their brows, which hadn't dissipated even while they were unconscious.

"And these too~" Yu Xiaogang's finger moved, pointing again at the metal cage on the other side. "If I remember correctly, the experiments the City Lord conducted on them were probably even more bloody and Evil than those Soul Beast next to them, weren't they?"

Ling Yi glanced at the seven or eight Wolf Bandits Yu Xiaogang had pointed to, then calmly looked away, his heart unmoved. "Xiaogang, you know that the very existence of these Wolf Bandits is a sin."

"Is that so?" Bloodshot veins spread across Yu Xiaogang's eyes, a cold smile playing on his lips. "But according to your saying, 'One man's hero is another man's enemy,' in the eyes of these Wolf Bandits, you are nothing short of a demon—"

"That's right~" Ling Yi nodded frankly, then frowned and looked at Yu Xiaogang with a strange gaze, asking, "But, Xiaogang, we are human beings. Why do you empathize with these Wolf Bandits and try to think from their perspective?"

"..."

Yu Xiaogang was initially speechless, stung by Ling Yi's words, but quickly gritted his teeth and said angrily, "I'm not sympathizing with these beasts, but you yourself once said that all things in the world are part of this universe, and all things have a spirit. Humans are no more superior than other flowers, trees, birds, beasts, fish, and insects... So, if you can be so indifferent to the lives of these beasts, how much better can you be to other humans?"

"Ling Yi, your kindness is nothing but hypocrisy!"

After uttering the words that had been buried in his heart for many years, Yu Xiaogang's eyes were so red that they seemed to be dripping blood. However, he felt that he was so clear-headed at this moment, clear-headed as he had never been in his life!

Beside him, Luo Sanpao's three heads displayed different expressions. The main head raised its head slightly, and its eyes gradually lit up with an emotion called unrestrained and an expression called arrogant.

The right head, which houses the spiritual will of the "Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King," had its eyes slightly narrowed, appearing calm and collected. However, in the shadows, a barely perceptible spiritual fluctuation was quietly released, enveloping Yu Xiaogang beside him.

Compared to the "Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King's " feigned attack while secretly advancing, Hannibal, who was residing to Luo Sanpao's left, wished he could shut Yu Xiaogang's mouth. If he weren't now just a mental entity, he probably would have broken out in a cold sweat.

Hannibal wasn't afraid of Ling Yi; he was afraid of Ling Yi's silver-armored guards, who were nowhere to be found!

Given Yu Xiaogang's current strength as a newly ascended Seven-Ring Soul Sage, if he were to face Hannibal at his peak, Hannibal's Weiyi problem might be how to cook such high-end ingredients to make the most of them.

Hannibal at his peak was that confident!

Yet this confident Hannibal was instantly killed two years ago by a guy in silver armor who never even showed his face. If he hadn't feigned death to survive, he'd be buried alive by now.

"Sigh~" Ling Yi looked at Yu Xiaogang, whose rebellious expression was written all over his face, and sighed. His tone became calm. "I have never claimed to be kind, just like I have never been a vegetarian."

After a pause, Ling Yi glanced meaningfully at the head where the "Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King" was located, and continued to say to Yu Xiaogang, "If you really insist on following this path of slaughter, there's no point in me saying anything more."

"This is an extremely dangerous and unstable road."

"Your future is in your own hands."

"Of course!" Yu Xiaogang grabbed the small wine jar that was half full, tilted his head back, and took a big gulp, letting the wine drip down his chin. With a carefree smile, he declared, "I will prove that I, Yu Xiaogang, am no less than anyone else in my life!"

Although the current situation has deviated from the initial expectations, Yu Xiaogang did not care at the moment. He only felt that even without Ling Yi, he could solve the problem of the mutation in his Martial Soul.

He is now full of confidence and motivation!

Ling Yi noncommittal about Yu Xiaogang's abrupt change, even feeling a little speechless.

If the "Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King" had dared to provoke Yu Xiaogang into getting too big for his britches, he would have slapped him to death.

Unfortunately, perhaps due to the setback he suffered at Tang Chen's hands, the "Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King" became much more cautious. In addition to triggering Yu Xiaogang Yu Xiaogang's inherent rebellious and defiant mentality and guiding him to give up seeking help from Ling Yi, it even helped Yu Xiaogang suppress the bloodthirsty killing intent aroused by the "Deathgod Domain".

Alright, let's see what kind of path Yu Xiaogang, who already has a protagonist-like template, can take in the script of a good-for-nothing's rise to power plus his ever-present old man ("Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King").

Yu Xiaogang placed the empty wine jar on the workbench between him and Ling Yi, turned around gracefully, and strode towards the door.

At the same time as he turned around, he waved his right hand, bringing Luo Sanpao, who was standing to the side, back into his body, and glanced subtly at the "God-Sealing Formation" array pattern on the ceiling.

Even now, he hasn't forgotten that there's something in this room that could threaten him.

"Xiaogang ~"

Just as Yu Xiaogang reached the door and was about to leave, Ling Yi's voice rang out again.

Yu Xiaogang paused, but instead of turning around, he remained with his back to Ling Yi, quietly waiting for him to continue.

Then, Ling Yi's voice drifted over:

"Since you've already decided to walk the 'path of slaughter,' I'll give you one last piece of advice."

"Heaven creates all things to nourish man, yet man has nothing to repay Heaven."

"I hope you can stay true to yourself and continue down this path."

I look forward to your future. Good luck!